Establishing the City of Kansas City’s legislative
priorities and positions on matters that may come before the 116th United
States Congress in 2019.

WHEREAS, the City desires to publish general statements of
its priorities and positions on matters that may become the subject of or be
affected by proposed federal legislation during the 116th United States
Congress in 2019; NOW, THEREFORE,

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF KANSAS CITY:

Section 1. That the City adopts the following priorities
and positions on matters that may come before the 116th United States Congress
in 2019:

1. U. S. Army
Corps of Engineers Partnership Projects. Support funding and
authorization requests for critical flood risk management and water resources
projects with the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers including:

Kansas City Levees -
Support efforts to ensure congress and the administration consider the Kansas
City’s Levees as a single project for funding purposes.

Blue River Watershed –
Support efforts to initiate a General Investigations study and $500,000.00 for
the first year of funding.

Blue River Integrated Watershed Planning – Support 7001 request.

Little Blue River –
Support 7001 request.

2. Continuing
Authorities Program. Support robust funding of the Continuing
Authorities Program (CAP) to provide the means of small flood risk management
and ecosystem restoration projects to move forward under the Congressional no
earmark policy. Support increased annual funding of the CAP to at least $85
million nationally to provide adequate funding for emergency streambank and
shoreline protection to address bank instability at eight locations along the
Blue River and allow Blue River Road to be safely reconstructed and reopened.

3. Water
Residential Assistance Program. Support the Water Residential
Assistance Program (WRAP) and development of an assistance program for Water
similar to LIHEAP for Energy to provide relief for low-income households.

4. Clean Water
Affordability. Support Clean Water Affordability Legislation to allow
for extension of combined sewer overflow remediation timeframes, better
computation of affordability, and more flexible permit requirements.

7. Water
Infrastructure Financing and Innovation Act. Support the permanent
authorization of the Water Infrastructure Financing and Innovation Act (WIFIA).
A new financing mechanism to help meet the nation’s critical water
infrastructure needs was introduced in 2014 by the Water Resources Reform and
Development Act and reauthorized in the 2018 bill.

8. Water
Infrastructure Trust Fund. Support the Water Infrastructure Trust Fund
to augment federal investment in the Clean Water and Drinking Water State
Revolving Loan Funds.

9. Section 408.
Support the continuance of local or non-federal sponsors to operate under
defined roles per federal regulations in 33 CFR 208.10 and monitor the Water
Resources Reform and Development Act and other proposed regulations that would
change these defined roles.

10. Missouri River
Degradation Study. Support publishing a report documenting the study
results. This is crucial to the 18 stakeholders.

11. Missouri River
Basin. Support the development of the Missouri Recovery Management
Plan provided it is based on science and allows for full stakeholder input to
the process while recognizing all other 8 authorized purposes and the current
Master Manual, with flood control and navigation as primary purposes.

13. Better Utilizing
Investments to Leverage Development Program. Support robust funding of the
U.S. Department of Transportation’s Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage
Development (BUILD) program, formerly known as the TIGER program.

14. Land Water
Conservation Fund. Support the permanent re-authorization and full
funding of the Land Water Conservation Fund.

15. Streetcar Expansion Project.
Support the Federal Transit Administration application submitted by the Kansas
City Streetcar Authority, Kansas City Area Transit Authority and the City of
Kansas City, to secure federal funding for the Streetcar expansion project.

Neighborhoods & Healthy Communities

1. Center
for Disease Control Funding. Support increasing the Center for Disease
Control’s total budget and appropriations for programs that impact local health
departments or public health activities.

2. Affordable Care
Act and State Children’s Health Insurance Program Funding. Support the
full funding of the Affordable Care Act and State Children’s Health Insurance
Program.

3. Early Childhood
Education. Support increased funding to early learning programs
including Head Start, Early Head Start and the Child Care Development Block
Grant to allow assistance to an increased number of eligible children.

4. AmeriCorps. Support
increased funding for the AmeriCorps program.

5. Environment. Encourage
the Trump Administration to rescind the United States’ withdrawal from the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s Paris Agreement and
support improving the environment and reducing carbon emissions by such means
as a carbon fee and dividend program.

6. Family &
Medical Leave. Support the creation of a national paid family leave
program, which will support child development, early childhood health outcomes,
and families. In 2016, the City introduced a paid parental leave policy, making
us among the first cities in the nation to do so and we continue to expand and
improve the program to meet families’ needs.

Public Safety

1. Urban
Areas Security Initiative Funding. Support the restoration of funding from
the Department of Homeland Security through the Urban Areas Security Initiative
(UASI) for the public safety agencies in our bi-state metropolitan area to
maintain regional capabilities to prevent terrorism and to respond promptly and
effectively to both man-made and natural disasters.

2. Immigration
Reform. Support extension of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
program and comprehensive reform of current immigration laws to allow
undocumented immigrants currently living in the United States to earn legal
status and apply for citizenship.

3. Anti-Violence
Funding. Support increased anti-violence funding for grants that will
assist the Kansas City No Violence Alliance and the City’s Aim4Peace Program
and pursue funding for initiatives that will reduce violent crime in Kansas
City.

Section 2. OTHER ORGANIZATIONS’ POSITIONS. That
the City supports the legislative positions adopted by the Economic Mobility
Task Force, Kansas City Consensus Agenda for Economic Development, Kansas City
Health Commission, Mid-America Regional Council and South Kansas City Alliance
for matters that may come before the 116th United States Congress in 2019.